Gulliver in Lilliput

This was Hargrave's first published work as a book illustrator. He contributed some black and white vignettes to the text, but not the colour illustrations or the cover seen here.

This was Hargrave's own copy and is inscribed in Hargrave's 's hand inside the front cover 'This book arrived on the 6th June, 1909, my 15th birthday, John Hargrave'. A letter from the publishers is pasted into the title spread: '5 June 1909 ... Dear Mr Hargrave, I am sending you the very first copy of the little edition of Gulliver which you illustrated for us. I hope you will like the way the side cuts have been reproduced. Yours sincerely, John Buchan'. It was sent from Nelson's at Paternoster Square London and addressed to John Hargrave Esq., Latimer, Chesham, Bucks. The commission was almost certainly the result of a helping hand from Lady Chesham, who took an interest in Hargrave and encouraged his early career as an artist